Behind the scenes of the circus, elephants are being abused physically and psychologically. Bull hooks, long rods with steel hooks at the end, are used to stab the elephants as a common form of discipline.

The elephants are beaten all over their body and are chained up to hard surfaces when they're not being trained. The elephants also spend the majority of the year enclosed in small boxcars traveling across America, eating and defacating in the same area. Undercover investigations have been done by the ASPCA, PETA, and the USDA, and have documented evidence of this abuse. For example, in 2009 PETA went undercover to reveal that the elephants were being beaten with bull hooks. Also, in 1997 the USDA openly investigated the Ringling Bros. Circus and documented evidence of elephant abuse.

A former employee also placed a complaint against the abuse preformed by the training staff. Still, the USDA closed the case because there was insufficient evidence. The Animal Welfare Act and the Endangered Species Act are not being enforced because of the broad discretion of enforcement carried out by the USDA. Since the government acts don't include a citizen suit provision, a private citizen can't sue the USDA for not enforcing the acts.

For this reason it is important to send this petition to a House Representative of Arizona, so the elephant abuse in the circus can be acknowledged and stopped.

Anne, 59 years old, is Britain's last circus elephant, the Asian elephant was brought by Bobby Roberts (owner of the travelling circus) parents in the 1950's for approx £3,000 , in those days she was one of many circus elephants, but now most circuses have stopped using animals.

Secret security cameras have filmed Anne being beaten a total of 48 times by her 'carers' who are paid £8,000 a year, she is abused by pitchforks, iron bars and other bits of equipment which are slammed into her so strongly she sometimes loses her footing, she is absolutely defenceless, as she is chained to the spot by her legs and arthritis has taken toll on her aging body.

Bobby Roberts says he will set her free if he finds a suitable sanctuary in England and claims the US is too far. If we get enough signatures to sign this and spread the word, who knows if we can change this stressed elephant's life?

To many the appointment of a Commissioner for Animal Affairs may appear to be radical, in much the same way as the abolition of slavery and the recognition of gender equality has at other points in history. There is a common link that exists between the subjects of animal protection and the subjects of these other social justice movements; their legal status as property and the fact that they are all sentient beings.

The time has come for us to shift our perspective on animals and view them as beings capable of feeling pain, rather that just as a source of food, entertainment or research.

The primary role of a Commissioner for Animal Welfare would be:
• to provide independent oversight of the existing federal legal framework,
• to promote the interests of animals as sentient beings,
• to investigate ways in which animals and humans can better coexist,
• to promote and monitor the overall safety, welfare and well-being of animals and to monitor the trends in complaints made on behalf of animals,
• to conduct special inquiries into issues affecting animals,
• to make recommendations to government and non-government agencies on legislation, policies, practices and services affecting animals,
• to promote the provision of information and advice to educate all members of society,
• to conduct, promote and monitor research and training on issues affecting animals,
• to conduct, promote and monitor public awareness activities on issues affecting animals

As a society we have embraced climate change, sustainability and biodiversity, but we must not overlook the importance of looking after the welfare and survival of our fellow beings with which we share the planet. The role of a Commissioner for Animal Welfare is a significant step towards expressing our genuine concern.

Many, if not all, of their animals are abused and neglected. Circus elephants are particularly affected. Elephant trainers commonly use sharp bullhooks and electric prods to beat their animals into submission. Elephants also spend 96% of their day chained up with barely enough room to move around. In the past 7 years, circus elephants have kill 18 people and injured 126. This is a result of the violent beatings that they receive day in and day out whether they perform the right "trick" or not.

57 out of the Ringling Circus' elephants were wild caught. Out of these, most of the animals were very young when they were captured. They were forced to grow up without the support and guidance of their caring mothers and aunts.

Circuses commonly withhold food, water, and socialization in an effort to "control" the animals' behavior. Big cats, primates, and all other animals face similar abuse as circus elephants.

Many circuses have been known to hire pedophiles, drug users, and convicted criminals to interact with both the audience and the animals. These people are not only sick and twisted, but they also have virtually no knowledge of the animals that they are dealing with.

Shrine's Circus, which is soon to be coming to Indianapolis, Indiana, includes dogs, horses, elephants, and big cats, as well as other animals. Shrine evades government policies and regulations regarding the treatment of its animals by not legally owning the animals. Therefore, it is technically not responsible for the animals' plight. Their animal acts vary from temple to temple.

Every year a small or big circus comes in Greece. The government does nothing. They let them advertise everywhere and do whatever they want. This has to stop now!

The science on suffering: ADI recommendations
17 May 2006

ADI Recommendations

Please, send this petition to anyone you know! It's time we get a chance to stop this!!

The Animal Welfare Bill states that an animal’s needs shall be taken to include–

(a) its need for a suitable environment,
(b) its need for a suitable diet,
(c) its need to be able to exhibit normal behaviour patterns,
(d) any need it has to be housed with, or apart from, other animals, and
(e) its need to be protected from pain, suffering, injury and disease.

Behind the scenes, elephant trainer Tim Frisco instructs would-be trainers how to dominate elephants and make them perform circus tricks. “Sink that hook into ’em. When you hear that screaming, then you know you got their attention.”

An elephant trumpets in agony as Frisco’s bullhook, with its sharp metal hook and spiked end, tears through her sensitive skin. Frisco, a Carson & Barnes elephant trainer, learned the trade from his father, a former trainer for Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus.

The fact is, animals do not naturally ride bicycles, stand on their heads, balance on balls, or jump through rings of fire. To force them to perform these confusing and physically uncomfortable tricks, trainers use whips, tight collars, muzzles, electric prods, bullhooks, and other painful tools of the trade.

We applaud trapeze artists, jugglers, clowns, tightrope walkers, and acrobats, but let’s leave animals in peace. Sweden, Austria, Costa Rica, India, Finland, and Singapore have all banned or restricted the use of animals in entertainment—it’s time for the U.S. to do the same.

Jordan once forced a tiger to perform while sick and waited a month to cure a tiger's fractured leg. He has a past of agressive behavior towards elephants and he gives dirty drinking water to elephants and does not give any veterinarian care towards the animals.

Animals exploited for human entertainment face appalling treatment, pose threats to public health and safety, are currently not adequately regulated by state and federal laws, and do not conserve endangered species as is so often claimed.

I strongly believe that the standard industry tools and methods used to initially "break" and train animals throughout their lives, including the bullhook, chaining, food and water deprivation, use of whips, clubs and blunt objects, and electric prods, are incredibly inhumane. In addition, subjecting circus animals to travel for up to 11 months of the year for thousands of hours, over long distances, is unspeakably cruel. As you know, these animals may be chained while not performing, transported in vehicles that lack climate control, and forced to stand or lie in their own waste.

Wild animals used in public displays are dangerous — and even deadly. Recent incidents nationwide highlight the need for tighter restrictions on the exhibition of these animals. In addition to the many documented escapes and attacks by captive animals used for exhibition, elephants may carry tuberculosis (TB), and can infect humans with the bacterial disease.

Circuses are entertainment, not education. Watching wild animals perform unnatural tricks only teaches our children that it is acceptable to exploit animals; it does not teach respect for animals, nor does it help animals in the wild. Animal-free circuses and entertainment, such as Cole Brothers Circus and Cirque du Soleil, are growing as the use of wild animals becomes recognized as archaic, unsafe and inhumane.

For the sake of human safety and animal welfare, please stop using animals in Carson &Barnes,Ringling Bros and Barnum & Bailey.

People who support the circus should be ashamed of themselves. To sit there and watch these animals suffer a lot of them die and kill people. Do you blame them? I am so angry about this and how can you buy a show and sit there and watch them suffer?

Circus animals suffer a great amount of stress and showing abnormal behaviour. This is because the animals have been chained, caged, taken from town to town and made to live in cramped and unsuitable accommodation.

Four lions are left high and dry by a circus company at Sattur, TamilNadu, South India. This incident has appeared in local newspapers. No action has been taken for the past four months. The lions are living in small cages. They don't get enough water and food and they are semi starved condition. If left so in the summer months, they would definitely die. Please take immediate steps to leave the lions in a national park or a zoo.
B.Harinathan, VIII
I.Bibul, VIII
S.S.Vignesh V
Boopathy, VIII
Muthuraja, VIII
MAthan, V
Nature Club Of YRTV MAT. HR. SEC. SCHOOL, SIVAKASI, TamilNadu, South India.
Pin - 626 123

The animals used in the circus travel many miles every year without the proper care and abuse. Elephants are chained up and forced to stand in their own waste. They are caged in the heat without water. Elephants are trained with abusive methods, they are mentally broken down with brutal beatings some days at a time, they are beaten with clubs and shocked with electric prods, stabbed with sharp hooks and whipped. Baby elephants are taken from their mothers at one year of age and are stripped of their wildlife social bonds. Elephants in the wild live up to 70 years old. They live in herds and have large extended families. They take baths and find shade in hot weather. Large cats are also stripped of their wildlife traits. They can't hunt for food, sleep in the sun, and roam for miles each day. Lets put a stop to this abuse and stop using animals as entertainment in the circus.